Advisory Committee Chair
Tina K Reuter
Advisory Committee Members
Jordan Kiper
Robert Blanton
Document Type
Thesis
Date of Award
2021
Degree Name by School
Master of Arts (MA) College of Arts and Sciences
Abstract
In this paper, I broadly describe the timeline of the conflict in Northern Ireland, examine negative and positive peace approaches to peacebuilding including political (or consociationalism-based), human rights-based, and reconciliation-based methods, and present my own conclusions based on the literature review I conducted as to the most efficacious strategy for ensuring long-lasting peace in Northern Ireland. To do this, I reviewed numerous articles, papers, and chapters on the conflict in Northern Ireland, approaches in post-conflict reconciliation, and conflict resolution theory. Because the conflict in Northern Ireland ended approximately twenty years ago, much of the research referenced in this paper is from that time period. I offer a current perspective which takes into consideration a more holistic view of negative and positive peace approaches. In addition, my conclusions offer a path forward from the negative peace achieved by the Good Friday Agreement. Further research should be focused on longitudinal studies of reconciliation and positive peacebuilding as more time passes from the end of the conflict, and on updating previous research with contemporary data.
Recommended Citation
Smith, Evan Wiley, "Examining Approaches for Peacebuilding in Post-conflict, Post-Good Northern Ireland" (2021). All ETDs from UAB. 920.
https://digitalcommons.library.uab.edu/etd-collection/920